At Charing Cross, Pluromed is launching LeGoo Internal Vessel Occluder, the first ever fully reversible atraumatic gel plug to replace clamps, occlusion balloons or vessel loops in vascular surgery; lung, kidney, and liver surgery; and organ transplant. LeGoo is CE-Marked and is already in clinical use in many leading hospitals in Europe.
LeGoo is used predominantly in peripheral bypass (Fem-Tib, Fem-Pop, Fem-Fem, etc) and arteriovenous fistula for hemodialysis patients. LeGoo is also used in the heart during off-pump and on-pump coronary artery bypass surgery. LeGoo is very resistant to blood flow even in quite large arteries (up to and including the iliac), yet the plug reopens in seconds when touched with sterile ice or dissolved with cold saline.
LeGoo is made of a biocompatible, aqueous, reverse thermosensitive polymer. At lower temperatures, LeGoo exists as a liquid. At body temperature, LeGoo rapidly changes to a viscous gel in a reversible phase change. When injected into a blood vessel, LeGoo forms an occluding plug at the injection site. The occlusion is designed to last for the duration of an average anastomosis, though subsequent injections can prolong the duration of occlusion if needed, and flow can be fully restored instantly by cooling the vessel and dissolving the gel. Once dissolved, it can never re-solidify and there has been no evidence in clinical or preclinical experience of any tissue damage related to a LeGoo plug. LeGoo has been extensively studied for microvascular reactivity and its inability to cause micro-infarcts. LeGoo is neither absorbed nor metabolised: it passes through the microcirculation and is excreted in urine.
Because LeGoo conforms to any vascular geometry, the surgeon can ‘clamp’ without clamping and achieve a completely bloodless surgical field without fear of damaging fragile or calcified blood vessels. LeGoo also prevents back bleeding from side-branches or collaterals. Because LeGoo temporarily ‘stents’ the vessel and allows for suturing directly through the gel, it facilitates construction of the anastomosis. LeGoo does not need to be removed before completing the anastomosis; upon completion, LeGoo is dissolved by cooling the vessel with ice or cold saline.
For more information: LeGoo will be on display at the Charing Cross Symposium at Pluromed’s booth #18.
